For more than 25 years, the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF) has pursued a dedicated mission of preventing and curing breast cancer by supporting groundbreaking research focused on every stage and subtype of the disease. As one of eight institutions awarded grants in BCRF’s inaugural funding cycle in 1994, Dana-Farber has been a proud partner in this cause from the very beginning.
Recently, BCRF awarded 22 Dana-Farber investigators grants totaling nearly $2.1 million. The funded projects, which support early career scientists and senior investigators alike, address key translational and clinical questions with potential to transform the status quo of breast cancer research and care. Funded studies range from exploring the activity of a new antibody therapy in early stage HER2-positive breast cancer to developing novel ways to predict which patients with triple-negative breast cancer will respond to immunotherapies.
The robust list of grantees includes Daniel Abravanel, MD, PhD; Monica Bertagnolli, MD; Myles Brown, MD, director of the Center for Functional Cancer Epigenetics and the Emil Frei III, MD, Professor of Medicine; Alan D’Andrea, MD, director of the Susan F. Smith Center for Women’s Cancers and director of the Center for DNA Damage and Repair; Judy Garber, MD, MPH, chief of the Division for Cancer Genetics and Prevention, director of the Li-Fraumeni Syndrome and TP53 Center, and the Susan F. Smith Chair; Sheheryar Kabraji, BM, BCh; William G. Kaelin Jr., MD, the Sidney Farber, MD, Professor of Medicine and 2019 Nobel Laureate; Panagiotis Konstantinopoulos, MD, PhD, director of translational research in the Gynecologic Oncology Program and co-director of the Center for BRCA and Related Genes; Ian Krop, MD, PhD, director of clinical research in the Breast Oncology Program; Nancy Lin, MD, director of the Metastatic Breast Cancer Program and the Program for Patients with Breast Cancer Brain Metastases; Xiaole (Shirley) Liu, PhD, director of the Center for Functional Cancer Epigenetics; David Livingston, MD, the Charles A. Dana Chair in Human Cancer Genetics; Ursula Matulonis, MD, chief of the Division of Gynecologic Oncology and the Brock-Wilson Family Chair; Otto Metzger, MD; Elizabeth Mittendorf, MD, PhD, co-director of the Breast Cancer Clinical Research Program and director of the Breast Immuno-Oncology Program; Ann Partridge, MD, MPH, vice chair of Medical Oncology, founder and director of the Program for Young Women with Breast Cancer, and director of the Adult Survivorship Program; Kornelia Polyak, MD, PhD; Meredith Regan, ScD; Nikhil Wagle, MD; Adrienne Waks, MD; Eric Winer, MD, chief of the Division of Breast Oncology, chief clinical development officer, senior vice president for medical affairs, and the Thompson Chair in Breast Cancer Research; and Jean Zhao, PhD.
“During this undeniably difficult year, we are uplifted by the perseverance and fortitude of Dana-Farber’s world-class scientists,” said BCRF President and CEO Myra Biblowit. “We have no doubt that these dedicated researchers will be deeply involved in achieving our mission to end breast cancer.”